A basement construction company must pay more than £15,000 after admitting to displaying unauthorised advertising boards in Kensington.
Large adverts for London Basement Ltd were displayed at 72 and 44 Scarsdale Villas, in Kensington, where the company was carrying out basement extensions for the homeowners.
There were 22 adverts on the first property, with an aggregate size of 42sq-m, and five adverts on 44 Scarsdale Villas with an aggregate size of 6sq-m.
However, it is a criminal offence for a developer to display more than one advert on a building site in a conservation area unless it first receives consent from the local council. Furthermore, the advert can be no greater than 2sq-m in area.
The company was warned by the Kensington & Chelsea Council’s planning enforcement team in May 2014 to remove all unauthorised adverts from within the borough or face prosecution. The company did so but was witnessed displaying unauthorised advertisements on dates between September 2014 and March 2015.
It admitted to 11 unauthorised display charges and was fined a total of £12,334 at Hammersmith Magistrates’ Court on June 2, the council said.
The firm was also told to pay costs of £2,980 and pay a victim surcharge of £120.
The court heard how the company had no previous convictions and had taken steps to ensure advertisements on other sites it was working on complied with all regulations.
Cllr Timothy Coleridge, head of planning at the Royal Borough, said: “We will not allow developers to advertise themselves illegally in our residential areas.
"We will take action and go to court if required.”
